In the wake of the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, many online measures generally used for localized marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) are proving to be helpful for those coordinating and directing the relief effort.
Derek Gordon, writing at MediaPost, says that Google was among the tech firms to quickly take action in support of the disaster recovery effort, using its myriad of online services to provide full, accurate information to rescuers and victims. Gordon writes that Google Earth in particular is being used by relief workers to help navigate the devastated streets of Port-au-Prince.
The search giant has also launched a special People Finder tool, a simple web app that allows users to either post information that they have about victims, or search for that information about friends or relatives.
While the online effort has been highly proactive in aiding relief workers, those on the ground are encountering serious difficulties, due mostly to looting, violence, and the destruction of much of the impoverished Carribean nation’s already tottering infrastructure. Rescue and relief efforts continue, but the death toll is widely thought to have already reached into the hundreds of thousands.
